As much as I wanted to read this book when I was first granted access via NetGalley I never managed to get round to reading it. I have now gone back through and read the Synopsis and found that now this book is just not for me and will not be reviewing. I want to thank the publisher for allowing me to have access to the book but due to my tastes changing in reading this book no longer appeals to me.

I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

Dracula’s Child is just one of the most recent in an overwhelming and ever-growing number of sequels to Bram Stoker’s classic, but it stands out from the crowd for a number of reasons.

This is one of those sequels that mimics the original novel’s epistolary style successfully. Dracula’s Child is told through entries from characters’ private journals, correspondence between characters, and press clippings that coalesce into an expansive whole where the reader usually knows more than any individual character knows – heightening the palpable sense of foreboding and doom that befits a gothic adventure novel while at the same time giving the reader glimmers of hope that the characters don’t have. The perspectives of new characters are woven well with those of characters we’re already familiar with; Jonathan and Mina Harker, Arthur Holmwood, Jack Seward, and Abraham Van Helsing are all back, as is Jonathan and Mina’s now almost-teenage son Quincey.

If I have one complaint about the book, it’s how miserable all of the returning characters seem to be. If you know me, you know my deep attachment to the original novel and characters. It is hard for me to read a book in which those stalwarts who defeated a great evil appear to have led lives of such deep unhappiness in the aftermath. But that is a personal qualm, and I will readily admit that the unhappiness of the Harkers, et al, contributes to the overall sense of impending disaster the novel maintains.

Another positive: this is one of those seemingly rare sequels that does not riff on the now overused trope that Mina Harker (nee Murray) is the incarnation of Dracula’s lost love (which was nowhere in the original novel). There is no romantic connection between them here. In fact, it’s clear that Mina is still dealing with the trauma from Dracula’s assault/rape of her in the original novel. This really was a breath of fresh air compared to many recent sequels and retellings.

Barnes also incorporates something Stoker could not possibly have done overtly in the original: gay characters who are more than just stereotypes. The author deftly includes scenes of what it was like to live an “openly secret” homosexual life, or as much of one as could be lived given the strictures of the time. I appreciated the period-appropriate representation.

Overall, Dracula’s Child is a sequel that builds well from the original source material rather than rewriting or supplanting it. Like most sequels, it “goes bigger” than the original but in ways that feel original and exciting. And while it leaves room for a follow-up, if Barnes decides to never revisit these characters I feel content with where he leaves his cast in the final pages.

I had to DNF this book part way through, it just wasn't very gripping for me as a reader. I will try again someday but I had higher hopes.

It's not easy to have an author take you back to a book that was written over a century ago, but J.S. Barnes has done it with Dracula's Child. The novel follows Jonathan and Mina Harker as they settle in England, trying to put their terror with Dracula behind them, and their son, Quincy, is a central key to this developing narrative. This Bram Stoker-esque gothic/horror novel has genius written all over it. While reading, it was hard to believe that a modern author could capture the tone and voice of Stoker, while delivering this powerhouse novel.

Such a great addition to the Dracula story. This is good on its own, but made a refreshing addition to the creepy original. I immensely liked this one.

'Dracula's Child' by J.S. Barnes is for vampire lovers everywhere. A great addition to the Dracula mythos.

This was chilling!!!!! I haven't read the original Dracula yet but this was scary and atmospheric!!! Loved it. I recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC!

I liked this book. It was well written and well paced and is a worthy sequel to the original. I liked the way the author wrote this book in the same style as the original and didn’t try to add “modern” tones to the narrative. As the story is set at the turn of the twentieth century, inventions such as the car are included, but they don’t take over the story. There are no new fangled, high tech ways to trying to defeat the Count here. Speaking of the Count I wish there had been more of an appearance of him in the story. He’s more in the background in this novel. But all in all an enjoyable read.

I have a confession: I've never read DRACULA. I've now found a copy and it is glaring at me from my bedstand, because truth be told, I've neglected reading it almost as long as I've neglected writing this review.

But here we are, at last! DRACULA'S CHILD is more of a sequel than a direct retelling, and Barnes does an absolutely phenomenal job of mimicking the original's unique style. (How do I know this, if I haven't read DRACULA? Thank my high school English teacher, who made us read individual chapters.) It's complex, claustrophobic, atmospheric, and a stunning work of psychological horror. Whether or not you're a classics fan, if you're drawn to the Gothic dark, I would highly recommend giving this one a chance.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. Much like with Dracula, the writing style didn't grab my attention. I might give it another try, but for now I had to put this aside.

This book was fun but it does not make my top Dracula spin off books. I found it easy to put down and I had to force myself to pick it back up. However, when I did I did enjoy it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the genre of Dracula but is struggling for something to read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free version of this book in return for an honest opinion.

An excellent follow-up to Dracula, made for fans of Bram Stoker’s original.

Dracula’s Child is more “sequel” than retelling, presented in a similar style and format to Dracula and taking place in London a little over a decade after the events of the eponymous novel.

Jonathan and Mina are back, as is Van Helsing (briefly) and a handful of other minor canon characters who become more important to the story this time around.

The Harkers and their son sorta creepy son Quincy are the focus of the story, though the book is heavy with secondary characters. It takes a bit to learn to keep them all straight, but they’re an interesting and well-developed lot.

I absolutely loved that Barnes adopted a tone reminiscent of the original novel and incorporated its epistolary format.

The first 75% of the book is largely gothic in nature and thus slow moving and eerie, which was a delight. The last quarter the story turns to what I can only describe as a Victorian action novel (not a thing, except that it is now), and that part is a delight as well.

Barnes did well in respecting canon and the original story while still creating something fresh and unexpected. Equal parts creepy and fun, this was an excellent Dracula follow-up, which gave us an ending implying that there could be more. And I do hope there is more.

As a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula, I was excited to find out about this novel by J.S. Barnes. Unfortunately, though, the book didn't meet my expectations and once I finished it, it left me feeling quite disappointed.

I had hoped, that J.S. Lark would address, or rather add, some of the themes that were discussed in Dracula, as Stoker's novel deals a lot with the anxieties of the Fin de Siècle such as gender roles, homosexuality, imperialism, the feminization of men and society. Unfortunately, this was not the case and the novel fell flat in all of these regards. I didn't expect him to handle the themes the same way as Stoker, as the novel is set a decade after the events of Dracula, but I wish Barnes had incorporated themes that were relevant for the Edwardian Era.

What disappointed me the most though, was the portrayal of the women, as I personally have a big interest in Stoker's female characters. Unfortunately, Mina didn't possess the complexities that she had in the classic novel. In Barnes' novel, she was basically the typical victorian woman which is a huge disservice to her character. Yes, while she ends up conforming to traditional gender roles in Stoker's novel, she still possessed certain qualities of a New Woman which Stoker kept emphasizing throughout his novel. Here, Mina lacked these characteristics. It was disappointing because in the original novel, Dracula couldn't have been defeated without the help of Mina. She had a central role in defeating him. In this novel, she was denied that role.

Another aspect of the novel that I disliked was the number of characters. In my opinion, there were too many characters present and most of them were too one-dimensional. I had trouble keeping them apart and I constantly forgot who they were. Because of this, I also couldn't grow attached to them and I felt emotionally distanced from them. As a result, I didn't care about them, and by the end of the novel, I was almost glad that it's over. A lot of them didn't even seem to have an important role in the story.

I like that the author kept the epistolary style. In the beginning, and at the very end, it really helped the story move along. But, and this connects to the number of characters, in the middle the story really started to drag and I didn't even want to pick up the book. I really had to try hard to not start skim-reading the novel.

I also wish, in the end, Barnes would've taken more risks. A certain character should've died. Stoker himself would've never let that character alive.

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed. I think if you're just a casual fan of Dracula, this book could be fun. But if you've studied Dracula and know of the present themes in the novel, then you'll most likely be disappointed.

REVIEW

DRACULA’S CHILD J.S. BARNES

I have not been shy in my love for Dracula by Bram Stoker, it is one of my favourites. Expertly written, clever, and genuinely scary. There have been many books written that add to the mythos whether they be prequels, sequels, or deeper dives into some of the characters. Some noteworthy examples are Dracul by Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew Dacre Stoker and writer J. D. Barker, Dracula The Undead by Freda Warrington, and The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

Dracula’s Child by J. S Barnes is a mixed bag of a novel for me. I love that this book adopts the same method of storytelling as the original novel, the tale unfolding epistolary style via letter, diary entries and newspaper stories from the perspective of multiple characters. It’s a detailed homage of love and research to the original novel albeit with modern sensibilities. All our favourite characters are present and exciting new characters are introduced to move the story forward. The one thing I struggled with was the pacing – the book takes it time to bring all its threads together (and there are a lot of threads) and it is not until the second half of the book that there is some real drive and action to the story. However, I urge you to stick with it, as Dracula’s nefarious endgame is worth the wait and not something you will see coming.

Not quite the sequel I wanted, but a worthy addition to the Dracula mythos. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five.

This book definitely had some of the same vibes as the original Dracula. Being told between journal entries and newpaper articles makes this story work. We follow Mina and John while they try to live normal lives with their son who is to be the vessel in which Count Dracula is planning to use to return. It's not easy to take a such a well known gothic horror classic and make it work, but JS JAmes definitely did.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

The old gang is back! and with a number of new characters to fill out the supporting cast besides. Mimicking Bram Stoker’s style, Dracula’s Child is written in the epistolary format with the same linguistic approach, unfolding via a collection of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles, notes and other forms of documentation. While not every single perspective or source was equally relevant to the overall story, they were each written with the careful attention of someone clearly well-versed in the source material. Ultimately, I liked how, as a whole, these interrelated pieces formed to create a full-flavored narrative which felt appropriately horror Gothic while still retaining all the delicious intrigue like a sponge.

Dracula sequels are nothing new, even (or especially) those that imitate Stoker’s style. So, what makes Dracula’s Child special? Well, if you think you’ll enjoy a bold fresh take on the original characters, this might be well worth a look. While there are references aplenty to Dracula, this novel mainly features a unique continuation of the story filled with Barnes’ own content. Dracula himself gets a host of new powers, not to mention hungrier ambitions as he sets his sights on expanding his influence by playing politics.

That said, some readers might find this particular plot thread taxing, especially when combined with synchronic language and epistolary format. The novel’s style and structure demand a fair bit of patience and focus, which could be frustrating. Dracula’s Child is a “mood read” if I ever saw one, and it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This felt a lot like the original Dracula, in that the story is told the same way, through letters, journals, and newspaper articles. It is a dark time for England, one who was thought to have been defeated by the actions of a brave few is now coming back for revenge. This was a darkly gothic tale and I enjoyed it, even as everything was falling apart for Mina, Jonathan, Jack, and the rest of the gang and the ascension of the Count seemed imminent.

It was a well written book, even if it was very dark and catastrophic for England in the third year of the new century. Luckily a brave few can rise to the occasion to save them all! At least for a few years.

Set 10 years after the original events of Dracula, we find out that our main characters are once again dealing with the vampire overlord. This is a definite sequel to the original Dracula. Dracula's Child is set very much the same as the original Dracula is - through the character's diary entries, letters, editorials, etc. and then collated over the course of the book to tell the events of the story. I think Barnes did an excellent job at building the atmosphere in this book to make it just as creepy as the original and it was great reading about how the characters coped after their ordeal in the first story.

Unfortunately I found this to be a really dense book. I felt like the author spent more time describing the characters themselves than the events leading up to the climax. The action didn't start until pages 350-400. The concept and ideas were there but it just dragged. It took me so long to get through due to the density of simple day matters and missing plot points that I had to re-read sections. Despite this issue I would still recommend the book as I think the author has done a great job at pulling off a book like this.